Iphigénie en Tauride was one of Gluck's last operas, and the climax of his efforts to reform the French tragédies lyrique. It premiered in 1779 and was his biggest success on the Parisian stage, despite the efforts of Piccinnists to prevent the premiere. The Piccinni advocates preferred a traditional operatic style based on court idioms; Gluck's proponents favored innovation. Debate raged in the salons of Paris over the relative merits of each, and articles and letters were written in support and disparagement of both sides. But Gluck prevailed and the premiere went forward. His opera Echo et Narcisse was performed the same year but failed. The amount of work and the emotional involvement with the two operas cost Gluck his health, and he left for Vienna afterwards in a state of virtual collapse.

The story of Iphigénie en Tauride is taken from classical antiquity, and the setting is Tauris, after the Greek conquest of Troy. The libretto is by Nicolas-François Guillard and Roullet, who put together one of the finest librettos in the history of opera. The struggle is between the humanism and compassion of Iphigénie and the barbaric inhumanity of the court of King Thoas. There is no love intrigue in the plot, although the drama is filled with the conflicts of human passions. In the same time period, Goethe was writing his prose version of the story in which King Thoas is turned into a moral character, but in Gluck's libretto Thoas is so inhuman that justice is accomplished through his execution.

The opening prelude or "symphony" is sonorous and sumptuous, leading without pause into the following music The first section is full of graceful melody, but is soon replaced by an active con fuoco texture, heavy strings, and adventurous harmonies. This section leads straight into the first aria and chorus for Iphigenia, and makes for a dramatic opening to the opera. At once, a feeling of high tragedy is established. Scene 3 begins with a chorus of Scythians which uses tambourines, piccolos, and drums in an exotic texture. After a recitative for King Thoas, this same chorus returns as a refrain. A similar chorus for the Scythians for the same scoring acts as a frame in scene 4 of Act I, encompassing a ballet of four movements for the Scythians, and dramatic recitative passages for Thoas and Orestes.

The solo passages in this opera make use of a great variety of textures. Never sticking to a simple secco recitative, Gluck writes arioso passages, orchestral interjections, choral interjections, and a variety of accompaniment textures, tempi, and moods. In Act II, scene 5, Orestes and Iphigenia and a chorus of priestesses sing of the appearance of the shade of Clytemnestra in a texture which constantly varies. The emotions covered within the piece are confusion, anguish, distress, horror, vulnerability, even terror. In the scene that follows, Iphigenia and the chorus of priestesses sing to very light, flowing, orchestral accompaniment. The predominance of female voices, the flowing texture, the scoring for violins and harps, make this contrasting scene one of exquisite beauty.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.